Trump’s pick of ‘white supremacist’ Stephen Miller as chief of staff alarms Black leaders

Civil rights leaders condemned the appointment as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress, warning that Miller’s promotion threatens Black communities and immigrants.

President Donald Trump has named Stephen Miller his new White House chief of staff, elevating the controversial architect of his anti-DEI and immigration policies as civil rights leaders condemn the longtime adviser for what they describe as his white nationalist views.

The appointment comes just days after Republicans suffered major midterm defeats, setting up a political showdown between the Trump administration and the incoming Democratic-controlled Congress.

In a Truth Social post, Trump announced on Friday that Miller, who served as deputy chief of staff for policy for the past two years, would replace Susie Wiles as chief of staff effective Monday, Nov. 9.

“We got to make moves,” Trump told reporters when asked about the decision to elevate Miller, who he described as “great.”

The selection of Miller, a 41-year-old right-wing legal activist, signals that Trump intends to double down on his unpopular MAGA agenda after his Republican Party suffered major defeats in Tuesday’s midterm elections. It also signals Trump is preparing for a political fight as Democrats prepare to launch several investigations into the Trump administration.

“Having a white nationalist running the White House is not a good sign. Stephen Miller’s elevation to a more consequential position of power is a bad signal for what Trump’s endgame will be as a lame-duck president,” says Markus Batchelor, political director at People For the American Way.

He told theGrio, “Miller has been the central figure in Trump’s brazen abuse of executive power, his deadly deportation campaign, and attacks on justice, equity, and inclusion through the courts. As Chief of Staff, he will — unlike Wiles — enable Trump’s worst and most destructive tendencies, and the American people will bear the harm.”

Miller has been in Trump’s inner circle since his first administration, from 2017 to 2021. He infamously masterminded Trump’s Muslim travel ban, which targeted mostly African countries, and the family separation policy. During the second Trump administration, Miller served as lead on the White House’s aggressive immigration policies, including mass deportations.

“Stephen Miller belongs nowhere near the Oval Office,” said NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson in a statement provided to theGrio. The civil rights leader added, “He belongs before a judge. He’s a thug who will be remembered as the architect of Trump’s vile and authoritarian regime.”

Miller is known for promoting many of Project 2025’s anti-DEI and anti-immigration policies and has been a vocal advocate for white grievance politics. As a private attorney, Miller founded America First Legal, which filed several lawsuits challenging DEI policies at several U.S. companies and institutions, including against Black farmers. The conservative firm argued that such policies were discriminatory against white men.

U.S. Rep.-elect Chris Rabb (D-Pa.), a Democratic strategist who will be sworn into office in January, slammed Miller as a “white supremacist.” He told CNN that President Trump has “not learned” from the “historic routing” of the midterm elections.

Rabb added, “We haven’t had a win this big since 1974. But [Trump] is reasserting who he is and what the MAGA cult stands for.”

Dreisen Heath, a human rights advocate and policy expert, told theGrio of Miller’s promotion, “Swapping Susie Wiles for Stephen Miller is just white supremacist musical chairs within an authoritarian administration.”

Heath continued, “He is the same person supporting the fast-tracking of white South Afrikaners as refugees while the process remains shut for almost everyone else.” However, she added, “His title doesn’t change what voters rejected. Millions voted in complete rebuke of state-sanctioned violence, unequal conditions, and corruption, across all levels of government.”

Nadine Smith, president and CEO of Color Of Change, told theGrio, “Losing public support does not strip this administration of its power to destroy lives. Giving Miller more authority puts Black communities, immigrants and everyone this administration has targeted in greater danger.”

The social justice leader called on the incoming Democratic-controlled Congress to “investigate abuses, expose who ordered them, and use its power over federal spending to stop them.”

“We must challenge unlawful actions in court and organize to protect our neighbors. Our power did not end when the polls closed,” said Smith. “We built it by bringing people together, and we must keep building until the government fears the consequences of violating our rights more than it fears defying Donald Trump.”